PRESIDENT Donald Trump of the United States of America is threatening fire and brimstone over what he termed the “persecution of Christians in Nigeria”. He has already directed the Department of War to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria. The American President has also threatened to immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, just as he has boasted that the US military action will completely wipe out “Islamic terrorists responsible for the killing of Christians”.
In absolute obedience to their Commander-in-chief, the United State military has already submitted a contingency plan for potential strikes on Nigeria. In fact, the US Africa Command has drawn up and sent its options to Trump.
The plan has three options: heavy, medium, and light force, each designed to allow for a controlled escalation. The “heavy option” presented by the command is the most forceful military response the US could take against Nigeria, and it involves sending an aircraft carrier to the Gulf of Guinea, off the Nigerian coast, and using fighter jets or long-range bombers to strike targets deep inside Northern Nigeria.
For the medium option, the command suggests using drone strikes against militant camps, bases, convoys, and vehicles in Northern Nigeria. The US Predator and Reaper drones have a capacity to loiter for hours before striking. Again, other US intelligence assets would build up targets’ patterns of life to enable precise, timely strikes.
The light option being considered centres on partner-enabled operations, with the US military and State Department supporting Nigerian government forces to target Boko Haram and other Islamist insurgents responsible for attacks, kidnappings, and killings of civilians. The primary goal of the plan is to strike Islamist militants in Northern Nigeria, protect Christians from armed violence, and to end the decade-long insurgency in the country.
As expected, there has been pushback from the Federal Government, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assuring Nigerians that the top hierarchy of the Trump administration are being engaged in a bid to douse tensions as well as denying the existence of a genocide in Nigeria. I make bold to say that there is no genocide against Christians in Nigeria. However, the rhetoric coming from the Trump administration should be a welcome development going by the fact that too many Muslims and Christians have lost several limbs and lives to insurgents’ activities in the country.
Since the emergence of the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria in 2002, the group became militants after the killing of its leader, Muhammed Yusuf in 2009. Abubakar Shekau, who took over from Yusuf, never discriminated the killings of both Muslims and Christians until 2021, when he was eventually killed. When the group was first formed, their main goal was to ‘’purify’’ Islam, meaning to spread Sunni Islam and destroy Shia Islam in Northern Nigeria, believing that Jihad should be delayed until the group was strong enough to overthrow the Nigerian government. It aligned itself with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
When it started its war against the Nigerian state, its targets were the Police, the Armed Forces, and later, civilians. The conflict in the North has resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 children and displaced over 2 million Nigerians. Boko Haram has also contributed to regional food crises and famines in Northern Nigeria and its neigbouring countries.
One of the consequences of the Boko Haram’s activities in the North Eastern parts of Nigeria is the movement of pastoralists down South to escape the group’s activities and to seek fertile ground for their cattle. This created another round of crisis between farmers and herders. Indeed, the violence in states like Benue, Plateau, and Southern Kaduna, which is often used to push the narrative of ‘’genocide against Christians in Nigeria’’ is simply a conflict over resources – Land and Water.
This has been documented several times by even the United States-based Human Rights Watch report since 2000. In their reports, HRW has consistently indicted authorities in our country for “taking no meaningful steps to address underlying grievances” or bring to justice, those responsible for the massacre of innocent people, “often in horrific circumstances”. But none of their reports has ever suggested what is being imputed by some American politicians led by Trump.
In Nigeria, the real challenge is not the persecution of adherents of one faith by those who profess another, but rather, the weakness of our institutions to deal with sundry cartels of criminals and the extent to which religion has become a political tool. Many of these terrorists have put Nigerians through hell for too long and nobody is halting them as they hurt. The terror groups that anger Trump anger Nigerians, too. They sneaked in from the Sahel and are snuffing out lives indiscriminately out of every shade of humanity.
Families of the 37 worshippers at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madala, Niger State, are still mourning their loved ones who were bombed by Boko Haram on Christmas Day in 2011. The Great Mosque of Kano got its own share of their mayhem from the same group in 2014, when 107 defenceless Muslim worshippers were killed.
What about bomb blasts on soft target non-religious places in the Federal Capital Territory such as the UN building, police headquarters, Nyanya motor park, and THISDAY offices, where hundreds of Nigerians succumbed to the cold hands of the extremists? These bandits, who are strongly believed to be aided and abetted by Nigerians in powerful places and personalities with bags of stacked cash, are killing everybody with wanton recklessness.
What President Trump did not recognise nor acknowledge is the fact that the terror group does not discriminate their victims. In fact, available statistics show that more Muslims have fallen victim to the antics of the terror groups operating in Nigeria than Christians. The killings that have been ongoing in Borno State have taken several Muslims lives too.
These facts are known worldwide, and that is why many world leaders and observers are of the view that Trump is simply playing to the gallery. Just last month in Rome, Tinubu received Mr. Massad Boulos, Senior Adviser to Trump on Arab and African Affairs. After the meeting, Boulos submitted this account: “People of all religions and of all tribes are dying, and it is very unfortunate, and we even know that Boko Haram and ISIS are killing more Muslims than Christians… This is not specifically targeted at one group or the other.” That is what should be made apparent to Trump.
However, in spite of the billions of Naira spent in tackling the crisis, Nigeria military have recorded little success in the fight against insurgency, with many Nigerians now believing that the military top brass are also benefiting from the security challenges we are facing and are exploiting the situation to feather their own nests. How can we be battling an insurgent group for over 20 years with little or no success? The North-east, the North-west, and some states in the North central are now no-go areas for many Nigerians.
Already, there are fears in the South-west that the region may soon face such existential threats, as Kwara state has come under intense attack by a new terror group – the Lakurawa. If Kwara state is eventually ‘’captured’’, it is certain that the South-west states may fall to the control of insurgents. The question on the lips of many is how can a nation grow and develop when over 50 per cent of its land mass is being fought for by criminals bold enough to challenge the State? Nigerians are not looking for perfection in governance.
They just desire a common-sense approach from our leaders regarding issues affecting their survival and livelihoods. There is no shred of understanding in the way governments from the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo till date have handled wanton and senseless killings of Nigerians by these terror groups, be it Boko Haram, Al Qaida, or ISIS.
With billions of dollars sunk into addressing insecurity in the country, the results are flat-out disgraceful. Between 2016 and 2022, security spending exceeded $19.9bn. In 2023, $3.2bn was the commitment, and N1.65tn in 2024. Despite large allocations, spending effectiveness has been hampered by corruption, poor management, and political factors.
This is where President Trump could assist the country. While he should be told that he has no right under International Law to send soldiers to Nigeria for whatever purpose, the US military could collaborate with their Nigerian counterparts in areas of intelligence sharing, training, as well as selling military hardware to Nigeria. That is the last option the US Department of War has also highlighted. And that is the option that would be welcomed by Nigerians.
Now is the time for us to thank Trump for his love for Nigerian Christians. We have heard him. He has awakened a sleeping giant. Concerted efforts are now been put in place by the authorities to deal with the criminals making life difficult for the average Nigerian. Violence in Nigeria stems from complex socioeconomic factors rather than religious conflicts.
Clashes between farmers and herders are driven by resource scarcity and land competition, not religion. I believe that we will eventually put our house in order. God has used Trump to wake up the Giant of Africa. However, we decline the offer of a unilateral military strike on terrorists’ terrains, as it will unleash mayhem on the innocents amongst whom they have infiltrated.
Provide the logistics in term of intelligence and hardware, and our military will finish the job. Since Trump came up with his rhetoric, the terrorists have simmered down and are now in hiding. Not a single attack on innocent Nigerians in the last one week. That is the Trump effect. Neighbouring countries are also closing their borders against the terrorist groups. Now is the time to identify their locations and complete the task of annihilating them and rehabilitating those arrested. Again, Tinubu should fast-track the appointments of Ambassadors to keys countries in Europe and America to take charge of projecting our positive image abroad.
Trump’s focus on Nigeria in the last few days is welcome and it should be seen for what it is – that our government needs do more to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians. After all, Section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
See you next week.
– Akintunde is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Glittersonline newspaper. His syndicated column, Monday Discourse, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday.
